WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: WTBA), parent company of West Bank, is pleased to report that its Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share. It had been $0.11 per share for the past three quarters. The dividend is payable on May 27, 2014, to shareholders of record on May 7, 2014.

"We are pleased to increase the dividend to our shareholders for the second time in the past 12 months. Our board and management believe the earnings of the Company are at a level that is consistent and sustainable and at a level that will support growth as well as allow for this higher dividend," stated David Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of West Bancorporation, Inc.

For the first quarter of 2014, net income was $4.40 million, or $0.27 per diluted common share. This compares to net income for the first quarter of 2013 of $3.95 million, or $0.23 per diluted common share.

"During the first quarter of 2014, the loan portfolio grew by $27 million. Our loans are $82 million higher than a year ago," commented Nelson. "Part of that growth came from our office in Rochester, Minnesota, which opened one year ago. That office became profitable early in the first quarter of this year, just nine months after opening. This is a testament to the people we hired and the potential in that market."

"A financial metric that analysts and investors look at is revenue growth. The most significant revenue item for our Company is interest income. For the first quarter of 2014, our interest income was 6.2 percent higher than the first quarter of last year," added Mr. Nelson.

The Company filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning. Please refer to that document for a more in-depth discussion of our results. The Form 10-Q document is available free of charge on the Investor Relations section of West Bank's website at www.westbankstrong.com.

The Company will discuss its first quarter 2014 results during a conference call scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, Friday, April 25, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time. The telephone number for the conference call is 888-317-6016. A recording of the call will be available until May 8, 2014, at 877-344-7529, pass code: 10038837.

About West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: WTBA)West Bancorporation, Inc. is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Serving Iowans since 1893, West Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of West Bancorporation, Inc., is a community bank that focuses on lending, deposit services, and trust services for consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses. West Bank has eight full-service offices in the Des Moines metropolitan area, two full-service offices in Iowa City, one full-service office in Coralville and an office in Rochester, Minnesota.

Certain statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives and expected operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based, are "forward-looking statements" within the meanings of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this press release. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "projects," "future," "may," "should," "will," "strategy," "plan," "opportunity," "will be," "will likely result," "will continue," or similar references, or references to estimates, predictions or future events. Such forward-looking statements are based upon certain underlying assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Because of the possibility that the underlying assumptions are incorrect or do not materialize as expected in the future, actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may affect future results include: interest rate risk; competitive pressures; pricing pressures on loans and deposits; changes in credit and other risks posed by the Company's loan and investment portfolios, including declines in commercial or residential real estate values or changes in the allowance for loan losses dictated by new market conditions or regulatory requirements; actions of bank and non-bank competitors; changes in local and national economic conditions; changes in regulatory requirements, limitations and costs; changes in customers' acceptance of the Company's products and services; and any other risks described in the "Risk Factors" sections of reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update such forward-looking statements to reflect current or future events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY

Financial Information (unaudited)

(in thousands)

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

March 31, 2014

March 31, 2013

Assets

Cash and due from banks

$

58,565

$

34,634

Short-term investments

27,581

22,534

Investment securities

352,410

397,451

Loans held for sale

821

1,724

Loans

1,019,367

937,031

Allowance for loan losses

(13,283)

(15,632)

Loans, net

1,006,084

921,399

Bank-owned life insurance

26,530

25,890

Other real estate owned

5,020

8,232

Other assets

28,875

24,858

Total assets

$

1,505,886

$

1,436,722

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Deposits:

Noninterest-bearing

$

348,339

$

316,898

Interest-bearing:

Demand

272,946

158,055

Savings

455,321

454,735

Time of $100,000 or more

96,188

108,714

Other time

63,226

75,053

Total deposits

1,236,020

1,113,455

Short-term borrowings

5,395

64,258

Long-term borrowings

131,501

114,884

Other liabilities

5,398

7,633

Stockholders' equity

127,572

136,492

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

1,505,886

$

1,436,722

Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)

(in thousands)

Three Months Ended March 31,

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

2014

2013

Interest income

Loans, including fees

$

11,330

$

10,908

Investment securities

2,006

1,601

Other

10

63

Total interest income

13,346

12,572

Interest expense

Deposits

622

879

Short-term borrowings

13

27

Long-term borrowings

903

842

Total interest expense

1,538

1,748

Net interest income

11,808

10,824

Provision for loan losses

—

150

Net interest income after provision for loan losses

11,808

10,674

Noninterest income

Service charges on deposit accounts

679

708

Debit card usage fees

410

393

Trust services

318

239

Gains and fees on sales of residential mortgages

226

511

Increase in cash value of bank-owned life insurance

154

160

Realized investment securities gains, net

506

—

Other income

260

210

Total noninterest income

2,553

2,221

Noninterest expense

Salaries and employee benefits

4,111

3,969

Occupancy

1,011

933

Data processing

522

483

FDIC insurance expense

181

189

Other real estate owned expense

286

16

Other expenses

1,891

1,656

Total noninterest expense

8,002

7,246

Income before income taxes

6,359

5,649

Income taxes

1,959

1,701

Net income

$

4,400

$

3,948

Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)

PER COMMON SHARE

MARKET INFORMATION (1)

Net Income

Basic

Diluted

Dividends

High

Low

2014

1st Quarter

$0.28

$0.27

$0.11

$15.98

$13.64

2013

4th Quarter

$0.27

$0.27

$0.11

$16.64

$13.34

3rd Quarter

0.27

0.27

0.11

14.50

11.74

2nd Quarter

0.25

0.25

0.10

12.27

10.10

1st Quarter

0.23

0.23

0.10

11.72

10.46

(1) The prices shown are the high and low sale prices for the Company's common stock, which trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, under the symbol WTBA. The market quotations, reported by Nasdaq, do not include retail markup, markdown or commissions.

Three months ended March 31,

SELECTED FINANCIAL MEASURES

2014

2013

Return on average equity

14.17

%

11.84

%

Return on average assets

1.23

%

1.12

%

Net interest margin

3.64

%

3.36

%

Efficiency ratio

53.76

%

53.87

%

As of March 31,

2014

2013

Texas ratio

6.99

%

11.03

%

Allowance for loan losses ratio

1.30

%

1.67

%

Tangible common equity ratio

8.47

%

9.50

%

Definitions of ratios:

Return on average equity - annualized net income divided by average stockholders' equity.

Return on average assets - annualized net income divided by average assets.